Display wheel



y 1967 E. L. BAILEY 3,321,853

DISPLAY WHEEL Filed March 4, 1964 INVENTOR.

n ww y g ATTORNE S ERNEST L. BAILEY United States Patent 3,321,858 DISPLAY WHEEL Ernest L. Bailey, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Riegel Paper Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 4, 1964, Ser. No. 349,406 1 Qlaim. (Cl. 4070) The present invention relates to rotatable display devices such as calculators, color wheels and the like formed of paperboard or similar sheet material, and more particularly, to a new and improved display wheel construction especially well adapted for insertion or inclusion in magazines and the like.

Of the rotatable wheel units known to the art, none has been especially well adapted for economically feasible use in a magazine or like publication, due to the thickness of the fastener used to secure the rotatable wheel to its support, which fastener typically has been in the form of a metallic eyelet or pin. These have been disadvantageous for use in periodical binding machinery, for example, and have involved increased mailing weights which, of course, affect the unit cost of mailed magazines containing such display devices. Moreover, the fabrication costs of display Wheels, when conventional extrinsic fastening means are employed, have been a factor that has tended to limit the use of rotatable display units in magazines and in related applications.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, a relatively thin, rotatable, indicia-bearing display wheel and a supporting reference element therefor are fabricated from a single paperboard blank. The rotatable element is initially hinged to the support sheet, which includes a new and improved, integral fastening means. As an important aspect of the invention a disposable assembly hinge link is connected between the rotatable element and the support sheet enabling the rotatable element to be registered easily and expediently by a simple folding operation with the fastening means of the support sheet for ready assembly therewith. When the display wheel has been accurately registered with and rotatably secured to the supporting sheet, the disposable assembly link is detached and removed all as part of a sequential assembly procedure, so that the display wheel is freed for rotation in the desired manner.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for the display wheel unit embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a partially assembled display wheel unit with the assembly link articulated to and overlying the support sheet;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the completely assembled and operative display wheel unit embodying the principles of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of the unit taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a one-piece blank is cut and scored to provide a generally rectangular support or reference sheet 11, which advantageously may be of suitable size and shape to form a magazine page, for example. The blank 10 further includes a circular display Wheel element 12, having a circular opening 9 centrally located therein, and a disposable assembly link 13 joining the wheel 12 to the supporting sheet 11.

In accordance with the invention, the assembly link 13 is connected to the supporting sheet 11 and wheel 12 by lines of weakness 14, 15, respectively, generally defined by spaced cuts 16, which are of predetermined lengths and spacing to provide integrity to the entire blank in subsequent forming operations while also facilitating detachment and removal of the link 13 therefrom, when required.

At the center of the supporting sheet 11, a pair of generally elliptical tabs 17, 18 are defined by arcuate cuts 19 extending outwardly from a central mounting area 20. The area 20 is defined generally by the inner ends or roots of the tabs 17, 18, which may be formed by score lines 21, and has a length corresponding to the diameter of the opening 9. In accordance with the invention, the root dimension of the tabs 17, 18 is slightly less than the diameter of the circular opening Q in the wheel element and corresponds substantially to a chord length of the opening when the wheel is centered over the mounting area 20. The length of the tabs is sufficient. to ensure that the distance between their diametrically opposed extremities 23, 24 is greater than the diameter of the circular opening 9.

The reference support 11 and the wheel 12 of the unit may be printed before assembly with suitable color combinations, display information, and/or reference indicia, such as the graduations 30, 31 shown in the drawing. As will be understood, the printing on the support 11 and the wheel 12 appears on opposite sides of the blank 10.

Conversion of the blank 10 into an operable display wheel unit may be accomplished with facility by projecting the tabs 17, 18 outwardly with a temporary displacing force, so that their outermost extremities 23, 24 lie above the plane of the support sheet and within a circular area smaller than that of the opening 9 in the wheel element, and thereafter folding the link 13 about the hinge line 14- to place the opening of the wheel element automatically in registry with the projected tabs. In this respect, the distance from the center of the opening 9 to the hinge line 14 equals the distance from the center of the mounting area 20 to the hinge line, so that perfect registry is assured in an across-the-sheet direction. Registry in the top-to-bottom direction is assured by making the connections along lines 15, 16 of sufficient length to afford adequate stability, while not interfering unduly with the subsequent easy detachment of the assembly link, as by a suitable plow element associated with the assembly equipment. Release of the displacing force will allow the tabs 17, 18 to return toward the general plane of the support sheet through their own natural resilience thereby to sandwich the areas of the wheel element immediately adjacent the opening between the tabs and the support sheet as shown best in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spacing and dimensions of the roots of the tabs 17, 18 are such as to outline a rectangle of predetermined dimensions, which is closely circumscribed by the circular outline of the opening 9. Accordingly, the display wheel is effectively positioned for rotation about a freed axis on the supporting sheet 11.

By removing the link 13 from the structure, although separation of the link from the wheel element alone would be sufficient, the wheel element 12 maybe freed to rotate about the mounting area 20 into any desired position, as for example shown in FIG. 3 and the assembly is completed.

It will be appreciated that in accordance with the invention, a new and improved display wheel. unit is provided which, in addition to having a minimum thickness and weight and using no extrinsic fasteners, lends itself to simple and eflicient mass production techniques.

It should be understood, however, that the specific form of the invention herein illustrated and described is intended to be representative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claim in determining the full scope of the invention.

1 claim:

A folded one'piece paperboard assembly comprising (a) a rectangular primary reference sheet;

(b) a hinge member articulated to an edge of said primary sheet along a first line of Weakness;

(c) said first line of Weakness being coincident with a free edge defining a side of said rectangular sheet; ((1) a secondary member connected to said hinge member along a second line of Weakness spaced from said first line of Weakness;

(e) said secondary member defining a circular opening therein of a predetermined diameter;

(f) a pair of spaced cut lines on said primary sheet;

(g) said lines defining a pair of foldable tab-like members;

(h) said tab-like members having root portions defining a mounting area therebetween, the center of said mounting area being spaced from said first line of Weakness a predetermined distance equal to the distance from the center of said circular opening to said first line of Weakness when said paperboard sheet is in a flat, unfolded condition;

(i) said hinge member being folded along said first 4 line of Weakness, thereby further weakening said first line of Weakness and placing said circular opening in registry with said mounting area;

(j) said tab-like members having edges intersecting said circular opening; t

(k) said tab-like members being sufiiciently resilient to accommodate their out folding from the plane of said primary sheet and their subsequent return theretoward to sandwich said secondary member between said tab-like members and said primary sheet;

(1) said hinge member being separable from said primary sheet along said further weakened line and being separable along said second line of Weakness from said secondary member to free said secondary member for rotation relative to said primary member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2L016,445 10/1935 Massey 4070 2,317,047 4/1943 Foote -74 3,103,080 9/1963 Desmond 70 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. GRIEB, Assistant Examiner. 

